France’s coach, Didier Deschamps, has confirmed he will leave when his contract expires after the 2026 World Cup, saying it will be time to stop. Zinedine Zidane is the early favourite to take over.
Deschamps took charge of the national team in 2012 and led Les Bleus to World Cup glory in 2018, becoming the third man to win the tournament as a player and a manager.
“In 2026 it will be over,” Deschamps told the French TV channel TF1. “In my head it’s very clear. I’ve done my time, with the same desire and passion to maintain France at the highest level but 2026 is [a] very good [time to stop]. One has to be able to say stop, there’s a life after this. The most important [thing] is for France to stay at the top as they have been for many years.”
Deschamps took over from his fellow 1998 World Cup winner Laurent Blanc in 2012 and has guided France to the finals of three major tournaments, finishing runners-up to Portugal on home soil at Euro 2016 and losing the 2022 World Cup final to Argentina in Qatar. He also claimed the 2021 Nations League title.
His former France teammate Zidane, who headed a double in the team’s 3-0 victory against Brazil in the 1998 World Cup final, has repeatedly said he would like to manage Les Bleus after a sterling coaching career at Real Madrid, whom he guided to three consecutive Champions League titles from 2016-18. He has not coached since a second spell with Madrid ended in May 2021.
The French football federation’s president, Philippe Diallo, said it was too soon to name a replacement. “I won’t get into that debate [on Zidane],” he told the French sports daily L’Équipe. “Didier has a two-year contract and, out of respect for him, his staff and the players, the question of his succession does not arise today.”
